SCENE II.
A meadow surrounded by high rocks and woods.

Upon the rocks are tracks, with rails, also ladders, by which one later sees the countrymen descend. In the hinterground the lake shows itself, above which at first a lunar rainbow is to be seen. The prospect is closed by high mountains, behind which still higher glaciers tower. lt iscompletely night upon the stage, only the lake and the white glacier shine in the moonlight. MELCHTAL, BAUMGARTEN, WINKELRIED, MEIER VON SARNEN, BURKHARDT AM BUHEL, ARNOLD VON SEWA, KLAUS VON DER FLUE and yet four other countrymen, all armed.

SCENE I.

Manor of the BARON VON ATTINGHAUSEN. A Gothic hall adorned with escutcheons and helmets. The BARON, an old man of eighty-five years, of tall and noble stature, on a staff, on which there is a chamois horn, and clothed in a pelisse. KUONI and another six farm hands stand around him with rakes and scythes. -- ULRICH VON RUDENZ enters in knight's apparel.

-RUDENZ: Here am I, Uncle -- Now what is your will?

ATTINGHAUSEN: Permit, that I by ancient fam'ly custom
First share the morning drink with these my workmen.

(He drinks from a beaker, which then is passed around.)

In former times I was with them in field and forest
Directing all their work with mine own eye,
Just as my banner led them into battle,
Now I can not be more than but the steward,
And if the genial sun come not to me,
I can no longer seek it on the mountains.
And so in closer still and closer circles,
I move on slowly to the closest and
The last, where every life comes to a stop
I'm but my shadow, soon I'm but my name.

KUONI (to RUDENZ with the beaker):
I bring it to you, squire.

(Here RUDENZ hesitates, to take the beaker.)

Drink up! It is
From out one beaker and from out one heart.

ATTINGHAUSEN: Go, children, and when closing time is come,
Then we shall talk about the country's business.
(Farm hands exit.)

(ATTINGHAUSEN and RUDENZ.)

ATTINGHAUSEN: I see that you are girded and prepared.
Thou wilt to Altorf and the master's castle?

RUDENZ: Yes, Uncle, and I may not tarry longer --

ATTINGHAUSEN: (sits down): Art thou so hurried?
How? Are th' hours of
Thy youth so meanly measured, that thou must
Be sparing of them to thine aged uncle?

RUDENZ: I see, that you are not in need of me,
I am now but a stranger in this house.

ATTINGHAUSEN: (Hath scrutinized him with his eyes for some time.):
Yes sadly art thou. Sadly hath this home
To thee become so strange! -- Oh, Uly! Uly!
No longer know I thee. In silks thou struttest,
The peacock feather thou displayest proudly,
And fling'st the purple mantle round thy shoulders,
Thou look'st with scorn upon the countryman
And art ashamed of his familiar greeting.

RUDENZ: The honor, which is due him, give I gladly,
The rights, that he usurps, I must deny him.

ATTINGHAUSEN: Th' entire land lies neath the heavy wrath
O' th' King --
And every man of honor's heart
Is deeply troubled by the tyrant's force,
Which we must suffer -- Thee alone moves not
The universal pain -- One sees thee stand
Apostate from thine own upon the side
O' th' country's enemies, defying our.
Distress to follow after easy joys,
And court for princely favor, all the while
Thy fatherland bleeds from the heavy scourge.

RUDENZ: The land is sore oppressed --
Wherefore, mine uncle?
Who is't, who plunged it into this distress?
It would cost but a single easy word,
To instantly be free of this oppression,
And win a favorable Emperor.
Woe unto those, who seal the people's eyes,
That they resist what truly is the best.
For their own selfish gain they would prevent
The cantons taking oath to Austria,
As every country all around hath done.
It suits them well, to take their seats upon
The master's bench with noblemen -- they wish
The Emperor lord, to have no lord at all.

ATTINGHAUSEN: Must I hear that and from thy very mouth!

RUDENZ: 'Twas you who summoned me, now let me finish. --
What person is it, Uncle, you yourself Play here?
Have you no higher pride than to
Be canton magistrate or standard bearer
And govern here alongside of these herdsmen?
How? Is it not a far more glorious choice,
To pay one's homage to our royal lord,
Attach oneself unto his splendid camp,
Than yours to be the peer of one's own servants,
And share the judgment seat with countrymen?

ATTINGHAUSEN: Ah, Uly! Uly! I discern them now,
The voices of seduction!
They have seized Thine open ear,
they've filled thine heart with poison.

RUDENZ: Yes, I conceal it not -- deep in my soul
I'm pained by scorn of strangers, who call us
The peasant noblemen -- Nor can I bear't,
Whilst all the noble youth from everywhere
Are reaping honor under Hapsburg's banner,
To sit here idly on my heritage,
And see the springtime of my life depart
In ordinary daily labor -- Elsewhere
Great deeds are happening, a world of fame
Is brilliantly astir beyond these mountains --
My helm and shield are rusting in the hall,
The martial trumpeting of valiant tones,
The herald's call, which summons to the tourney,
It doth not penetrate into these valleys,
Naught but the cowherd dance and cattle bells
Do I hear here in one unchanging peal.

ATTINGHAUSEN: Deluded man, seduced by idle glow!
Despise thy land of birth! Thou art ashamed
Of ancient pious customs of thy fathers!
With burning tears thou wilt some day be sick
With longing for your own paternal mountains,
And for that melody i' th' cowherd's dance,
Which now in proud disgust thou dost disdain,
With painful longing will it capture thee,
When it awakes thee in the foreign land.
Oh, mighty is the urge o' th' fatherland!
The false and alien world is not for thee,
There in the haughty Emperor's court thouwilt
Remain forever strange with thy true heart!
The world, it doth require other virtues,
Than those thou hast acquired in these valleys.
-- Go hither then, dispose of thy free soul,
Take land in fief, become a prince's servant,
There thou canst be lord of thyself and prince
Of thine own heritage and thy free soil.
Ah, Uly! Uly! Stay among thine own!
Go not to Altorf -- O, do not forsake,
The sacred cause of thine own fatherland! --
I am the last one of my line.
My name will end with me.
There hang my helm and shield,
These will they bury with me in the grave.
And must I think with my last dying breath,
That thou but wait'st the closing of mine eyes,
To take thyself 'fore this new feudal court,
And all my noble goods, which freely
I received from God, receive from Austria!

RUDENZ: It is in vain that we resist the King,
The world belongs to him, wish we alone
To stiffen selfishly and to withdraw,
To interrupt the chain of territories,
Which he hath mightily drawn up around us?
His are the markets, and the courts, his are
The merchant roads, and e'en the horse of burden,
That passes on the Gotthard, pays him toll.
By his dominions, as within a net,
Are we enmeshed and circled round about. --
And will the Empire fend for us? Can it
Defend itself 'gainst Austria's growing power?
Helps God us not, no Emperor can help us.
What good can be assigned the Emperor's word,
When they to meet both war and money needs,
May pawn the cities, which have fled beneath
The eagle's shield, and sell them to the Empire?
-- No, Uncle! 'Tis a blessing and wise caution,
In grievous times like these of party strife,
To join oneself unto some mighty chief.
The Emperor's crown proceeds from line to line,
It hath no memory for faithful service,
To serve hereditary masters well,
Means strewing seeds i'th' future.

ATTINGHAUSEN: Thou art so wise?
Wilt see more clearly, than thy noble father,
Who battled for the precious gem of freedom
With property and blood and hero's strength? --
Sail down unto Lucerne, inquire there,
How Austria's rule doth weigh upon the land!
Soon they will come up here to count our sheep
And cows, to measure off our Alpine lands,
To ban the fowl and large game animals
In our free forest lands, to set up tolls
At all our bridges, and at all our gates,
Out of our poverty to pay for lands
They purchase, with our blood to fund their wars --
-- No, if we have to risk our blood thereon,So be't for us -- we purchase liberty
More cheaply than enslavement!

RUDENZ: What can we,
A shepherd folk, i' th' face of Albrecht's armies!

ATTINGHAUSEN: O learn to know this shepherd
people, boy! I know them, I have led them into battle,
I have observed them fighting at Favenz.
Let them come here, to force a yoke on us,
That we are resolute, we shall not bear!
-- O learn to feel, the stock from which thou art!
Cast not away the genuine pearl of thine
Own worth for idle show and hollow pomp --
To be known as the head of a free people,
That but from love devotes itself to thee,
That's loyal to thee both in strife and death --
That be thy pride, of this nobility
Make boast -- the native bonds knit firmly to
The fatherland, to th' cherished, join thyself,
Hold fast to it with thine entire heart.
Here are the sturdy roots of all thy strength,
There in the alien world thou stand'st alone,
A slender weed, that every storm may snap.
O come, thou hast not seen us for some time,
Try it with us for but one day -- today
Go not to Altorf -- Hear'st thou? Not today,
But this one day bestow thee on thine own!

(He takes his hand.)

RUDENZ: I gave my word -- Let go of me -- I'm bound.

ATTINGHAUSEN (Lets go of his hand, with earnestness.):
Th'art bound -- O yes indeed, unhappy one!
Thou art, though not by word and oath,
Tis through the ropes of love that thou art bound!

(Rudenz turns away.)

-- Conceal it, as thou wilt. It is the lady,
Berta von Bruneck, who draws thee unto
The castle, fetters thee to th' Emperor's service.
The knightly lady thou hast hopes to win
By thy defection from thy land -- Be not deceived!
They show the bride to thee but as a lure,
Yet she's not granted to thine innocence.

RUDENZ: Enough have I now heard. Fare well to you.

(He exits.)

ATTINGHAUSEN: Deluded youth, stay here! -- He's gone away!
I can not hold him back, not rescue him --
So hath the Wolfenschiessen turned away
From his own country -- so will others follow,
The alien magic tears the youth away,
By force aspiring far beyond our mountains. --
O ill-begotten hour, when what is strange
Came here into these tranquil blessed valleys,
To ruin the pious innocence of custom! --
The new is pressing on with might, the old,
The worthy is now leaving, other times are coming,
A different-thinking generation lives!
What do I here?
All those are buried now,
With whom I shared my work and passed my life.
Beneath the earth my time already lies
He's blest, who with the new no longer needs to live!

(Exit.)

SCENE II.

A meadow surrounded by high rocks and woods.

Upon the rocks are tracks, with rails, also ladders, by which one later
sees the countrymen descend. In the hinterground the lake shows itself,
above which at first a lunar rainbow is to be seen. The prospect is closed
by high mountains, behind which still higher glaciers tower. It is
completely night upon the stage, only the lake and the white glacier shine
in the moonlight. MELCHTAL, BAUMGARTEN, WINKELRIED, MEIER VON SARNEN,

BURKHARDT AM BUHEL, ARNOLD VON SEWA, KLAUS VON DER FLUE and yet four other countrymen, all armed.

MELCHTAL (still backstage):

The mountain pass is op'ning, follow me,
I know the rock and little cross thereon,
We're at our goal, here is the Rutli.

(Enter with storm-lanterns.)

WINKELRIED: Hark!

SEWA: Deserted.

MEIER: There's no countryman here yet.
We are the first to come, we Unterwaldners.

MELCHTAL: How far is't in the night?

BAUMGARTEN: The fire watch
In Selisberg hath only just called two.
(One hears ringing in the distance.)

MEIER: Hush! Hark!

AM BUHEL: The matin bell i' th' forest chapel
Rings clearly over here from Schwyzerland.

VON DER FLUE: The air is pure and bears the sound so far.

MELCHTAL: Go some of you and light some fire wood,
That it burn brightly, when the men arrive.

(Two countrymen exit.)

SEWA: It is a beauteous lunar night. The lake
Lies calmly here just like a level mirror.

AM BUHEL: They have an easy voyage.

WINKELRIED (points toward the lake): Ha, behold!
Look yonder! See you naught?

MEIER: What then? -- Yes, truly!
A rainbow in the middle of the night!

MELCHTAL: It is the light o' th' moon, that causes it.

VON DER FLUE: That is a passing strange and wondrous sign!
There live full many, who've not seen the like.

SEWA: 'Tis doubled, see, a paler one's above.

BAUMGARTEN: A boat is passing underneath it now.

MELCHTAL: That's Stauffacher who crosses in his boat,
The worthy man would not delay for long.

(Goes with BAUMGARTEN toward the shore.)

MEIER: It is the Uri, who delay the longest.

AM BUHEL: They have to detour widely through the mountains,
So that they may deceive the Governor's spies.

(In the meantime the two countrymen have set a fire in the middle of
the place.)

MELCHTAL (on the shore):
Who is it? Give the word!

STAUFFACHER (from below): Friends of the land.

(All go to the rear, toward those arriving. Out of the boat climbsSTAUFFACHER, ITEL REDING, HANS AUF DER MAUER, JORG IM HOFE, KONRAD
HUNN, ULRICH DER SCHMIED, JOST VON WEILER and yet three other
countrymen, likewise armed.)

ALL (shout): Be welcome!

(Whilst the rest linger in the rear, MELCHTAL comes forward with

STAUFFACHER.)

MELCHTAL: O Lord Stauffacher! I've him
Beheld, who never could see me again!
I've placed my hands upon his very eyes,
I've drawn the burning feeling of revenge
From the extinguished sunlight of his glance.

STAUFFACHER: Speak not of vengeance. We desire to meet
The threatened evil, not avenge the past.
-- Now say, what you in Unterwalden have
Achieved and 'listed for the common cause,
How think the countrymen, how you yourself
Have managed to escape the snares of treason.

MELCHTAL: Through the Surenen's fearsome mountain range,
Upon the widespread empty fields of ice,
Where but the croaking lammergeyer caws,
I reached the Alpine meadow, where the herdsmen
From Uri and from Engelberg extend
Their greetings and in common tend their flocks,
My thirst relieving with the glacier's milk,
Which in the Runsen foams and gushes down.
I stayed in isolated Alpine huts,
Both mine own host and guest, until I came
Unto the homes of social living men.
-- Already through these valleys word rang out
Of new atrocities, which had occurred,
And pious awe I found for my misfortune
'Fore every gate, where wandering I knocked.
Indignant did I find these upright souls
About the violence of the new regime,
For as their Alpine meadows ceaselessly
Give nourishment to the same plants, their springs
Flow uniformly, even clouds and winds
Pursue unchangeably the self-same course,
So hath the ancient customs here from grandsire
To grandson persevered just as before,
Nor do they bear audacious innovation
I' th' old accustomed even way of life.
-- Their hardened hands to me they did extend,
From the walls they lifted down their rusty swords,
And from their eyes there flashed a joyous feeling
Of courage, as I spake the names to them,
Which to the mountain countryman are holy,
Your name and that of Walter Furst -- What you
Would deem is right, they swore an oath to do,
They swore to follow you e'en unto death.
-- So sped I safely 'neath the holy shield
Of hospitality from farm to farm -
And as I came into my native vale,
Where widely scattered round my cousins dwell --
As I beheld my father, robbed and blind,
On stranger's straw, sustained by charity
Of tender-hearted people --

STAUFFACHER: Lord in Heaven!

MELCHTAL: Then wept I not! No -- not in helpless tears
Did I pour out the force of my hot grief,
Deep in my bosom like a precious treasure
I locked it up and thought of action only.
I crept through every winding of the mountain,
No vale was so concealed, I spied it out,
Unto the glacier's ice-attired foot
Expected I and found inhabited huts,
And everywhere, my footsteps carried me,
Found I the self-same hate of tyranny
For even at this final boundary
Of living nature, where the rigid earth
No longer gives, the governor's greed doth rob --
The very hearts of all those honest people
Aroused I with the goading of my words,
And all of them are ours with heart and mouth.

STAUFFACHER: Great things have you achieved in little time.

MELCHTAL: I did still more. Tis those two fortresses
Rossberg and Sarnen, the countryman doth fear
For from behind their walls of stone the foe
Defends himself with ease and harms the land.
With mine own eyes I wished to study it,
I went to Sarnen and beheld the castle.

STAUFFACHER: You risked yourself e'en in the tiger's den?

MELCHTAL: I was disguised there in a pilgrim's dress
I saw the Governor feasting at the table --
Now judge, if I can master mine own heart

I saw the enemy and slew him not.
STAUFFACHER: Forsooth, good fortune smiled upon your boldness.

(In the meantime the other countrymen are come forward and are
approaching both of them.)

Yet tell me right away, who are the friends
And upright men, who followed after you?
Make me acquainted with them, that we may
Draw near in trust and open up our hearts.

MEIER: Who knows not you, my Lord, in these three lands?

My name is Meier von Sarnen, this one here
Is Struth von Winkelried, my sister's son.

STAUFFACHER: You do not name me any unknown names.
A Winkelried it was, who slew the dragon
I' th' swamp at Weiler and his life relinquished
In this affray.

WINKELRIED: That was my sire, Lord Werner.

MELCHTAL (points to two countrymen):
These dwell behind the woods, are cloister monks
From Engelberg -- You will not look upon
Them with disdain, because they're serfs, and sit
Not free like we upon our heritage--
They love the land, are else of good repute.

STAUFFACHER (to both of them):Give me your hand.
He's fortunate, whose body
Is duty-bound to no one on this earth,
But honesty doth thrive in every class.

KONRAD HUNN: This is Lord Reding, our old Magistrate.

MEIER: I know him well. He is my adversary,
Who o'er a piece of land disputes with me.
-- Lord Reding, we are enemies at court,
Here we are one.

(Shakes his hand.)

STAUFFACHER: Now that is bravely spoken.WINKELRIED: You hear? They're coming. Hear the horn of Uri!

(To the right and left one sees armed men climb down from the rocks
with storm lanterns.)

AUF DER MAUER: Look! Is that not God's pious servant there,
The worthy pastor climbing down? Nor shuns
He toils o' th' way and terrors of the night,
A faithful shepherd caring for his people.

BAUMGARTEN: The Sacrist trails him and Lord Walter Furst,
But Tell I do not see among the number.

(WALTER FURST, ROSSELMANN the pastor, PETERMANN the Sacristan, KUONI
the shepherd, WERNI the hunter, RUODI the fisherman and yet five other
countrymen, all together, thirty-three in number, step forward and
take their places around the fire.)

WALTER FURST: So must we now upon our native soil
And our paternal lands in secrecy
Creep forth to meet, like murderers must do,
And by the night, which lends its sable cloak
But to the crime and to conspiracies
That shun the sunlight, we must seize upon
Our goodly right, the which is pure and clear,
Just as the splendid open womb of day.

MELCHTAL: Leave it at that. What darksome night hath spun,
Is free and joyous in the light o' th' sun.

ROSSELMANN: Confederates, hear what God bids my heart!
We're meeting here in place of an Assembly
And can be deemed to represent the people,
So let us meet by ancient usages
O' th' land, as we were wont in tranquil times,
Whatever is unlawful in this meeting,
Be pardoned by the need o' th' time. Yet God
Is everywhere, where justice is dispensed,
And underneath his Heaven do we stand.

STAUFFACHER: Tis well, let's meet in line with ancient custom,
Though it is night, so shines our justice forth.

MELCHTAL: Though not in number full, the heart is here
Of all the people, here the best attend.

KONRAD HUNN: Are not the ancient books as well at hand,
Yet they are written down within our hearts.

ROSSELMANN: Now then, so let the ring be formed at once.
Set up the swords of power in the ground.

AUF DER MAUER: Now let the Magistrate assume his place,
And let his bailiffs stand at either side!

SACRISTAN: There are three peoples here, to which belongs
The right, to give a head to the Assembly?

MEIER: Sehwyz may contest with Uri for this honor
We Unterwaldners freely stand aside.

MELCHTAL: We stand aside, we are the suppliants,
Who ask assistance from their mighty friends.

STAUFFACHER: Let Uri then assume the sword, its flag

Takes precedence upon our march to Rome.

WALTER FURST: The honor of the sword should fall to Schwyz,
For we all pride ourselves upon its stock.

ROSSELMANN: Let me resolve this noble competition,
Schwyz leads in council, Uri in the field.

WALTER FURST (hands STAUFFACHER the swords):
So take!

STAUFFACHER: Not I, to th' eldest be the honor.

IM HOFE: Ulrich der Schmied is most advanced in years

AUF DER MAUER: The man is brave, but not of free estate,
No bondman can become a judge in Schwyz.

STAUFFACHER: Is not Lord Reding here, the Magistrate?
Why should we seek for one yet worthier?

WALTER FURST: Let him be Magistrate and chief o' th' day!
Who doth agree thereto, lift up his hand.

(All lift up their right hand.)

REDING (steps into the middle):
I can not place my hand upon the books,
So swear I by th' eternal stars above,
That I will never deviate from justice.

(The two swords are placed upright before him, the ring is formed
around him, SCHWYZ holds the center, URI places itself to the right,
and UNTERWALDEN to the left. He stands leaning on his battle sword.)

What is it, that hath brought together here
Three mountain people at this ghostly hour
Upon the barren shoreline of this lake?
What should the content be of this new league,
Which we here found beneath the heaven's stars?

STAUFFACHER (steps into the ring):
No new alliance do we found, it is
An old alliance from our fathers' time,
That we renew! Know well, confederates!
Though lake, though mountain range may us divide,
And every people govern for itself,
So are we yet of but one stock and blood,
And but one homeland is't, from which we come.

WINKELRIED: So is it true, as it is said in song,

That we've come from afar into this land?
O, tell us now, whatever's known to you,
That this new league be strengthened by the old.

STAUFFACHER: Hear, what the aged herdsmen do relate.
-- There was a mighty people, in the land
Back to the north, that suffer'd from harsh famine.
In this distress th' Assembly did resolve,
That every tenth man as the lot might fall
Should leave his fatherland -- that did occur!
And forth, lamenting, men and women went,
A giant army, toward the midday sun,
With sword in hand they struck through German lands,
Unto the highlands of these mountain forests.
And never did the host become fatigued,
Until they came upon the savage vale,
Where now the Muotta runs between the meads --
No trace of human beings was here seen,
But one lone shelter stood upon the shore,
Here sat a man and waited for the ferry --
Yet violently the lake did rage and was
Not passable; so they beheld the land
More closely and perceived the beauteous wealth
Of timber and discovered goodly springs
And thought, they were in their dear fatherland --
Then they at once determined to remain,
Erected there the ancient town of Schwyz,
And many bitter days they had, to clear
The forest with its widely spreading roots --
Then later, as the soil no more sufficed
The people's number, they proceeded hither
To the black mountain, yes to Weissl and hence,
Where, hidden by eternal walls of ice
Another people speak another tongue.
The village Stanz they built beside the Kernwald,
The village Altorf by the valley of the Reuss --
Yet stayed they ever mindful of their source,
From all the foreign races, that since then
Have settled in the middle of their land,
The men of Schwyz each other recognize,
There is the heart, the blood by which they're known.

Extends his hand to the right and left.)

AUF DER MAUER: Yes, we are of one heart and of one blood!

ALL (extending their hands): We are one people and will act as one.

STAUFFACHER: The other people bear a foreign yoke,
They have submitted to the conqueror.
Even within our country's bounds there live
Some settlers, who are bound by foreign duties,
And pass their servitude on to their children.
Yet we, the genuine race of ancient Schwyz,
We have forever kept our liberty.
Never to princes have we bowed the knee,
Freely we chose the Emperor's protection.

ROSSELMANN: We freely chose the Empire's shield and refuge,
So doth it read in Emp'ror Friedrich's charter.

STAUFFACHER: For masterless is also not the freest.
There has to be a chief, a highest judge,
Where one may turn for justice in disputes.
Hence for the ground, which they have salvaged from
The ancient wilderness, our fathers granted
The honor to the Emperor, who's called
The Lord of German and Italian soil,
And like the other freemen of his realm
Pledged him the noble service of their arms,
For this alone is every freeman's duty,
To shield the Empire, which gives him protection.

MELCHTAL: What is beyond that, hath the mark of serfdom.

STAUFFACHER: Whene'er the call to arms went forth they follow'd
The Empire's banner and they fought its battles.
To Italy they marched with arms in hand,
To place the Roman crown upon his head.
At home they ruled themselves most cheerfully
By ancient usages and their own law
Blood sentences alone were th' Emp'ror's right.
And thereto was assigned a noble count,
Who had his domicile not in the land
When blood guilt came to pass, they summon'd him,
And 'neath the open heavens, plain and clear,
Spake he the law and with no fear of men.Where are the traces here, that we are slaves?
Is there one, who knows otherwise, speak out!

IM HOFE: NO, everything stands thus, just as you state
We've never tolerated despotism.

STAUFFACHER: E'en to th' Emperor we refused obedience,
When he once bent the law to favor parsons.
For as the clerics from the Abbey of
Einsiedeln laid a claim upon the Alp
Which we have grazed on since our fathers' time,
The Abbot yielded up an ancient charter,
Which granted him the unowned wilderness --
For our existence there had been concealed --
And then we spake: "The charter is a fraud.
No Emperor can bestow, that which is ours.
And does the Realm deny our rights, we can
Amidst our mountains do without the Realm."
-- In such a way our fathers spake! Should we
Endure the infamy of this new yoke,
And suffer from the foreign vassal, what
No Emp'ror in his might would do to us? --
This soil we have created for ourselves
By labor of our hands, the ancient wood,
Which else was but the savage home of bears,
We've changed into a domicile for men,
The brood of dragons have we extirpated,
Which poison-swollen climbed out of the swamps,
The misty cover have we torn away,
Which always grey hung o'er this wilderness,
The solid rocks blown up, o'er the abyss
The wanderer conducted on safe paths,
By the possession of a thousand years
The soil is ours -- and now the foreign vassal
Should dare to come and forge his chains on us,
And bring disgrace upon our very soil?
Is there no help against such great distress?

(A great motion among the countrymen.)

No, there's a limit to the tyrant's power,
When the oppressed can find no justice, when
The burden grows unbearable-- he reaches
With hopeful courage up unto the heavens
And seizes hither his eternal rights,
Which hang above, inalienable
And indestructible as stars themselves --
The primal state of nature reappears,
Where man stands opposite his fellow man --
As last resort, when not another means
Is of avail, the sword is given him --

The highest of all goods we may defend
From violence. -- Thus stand we 'fore our country,
Thus stand we 'fore our wives, and 'fore our children!

ALL (striking their swords):
Thus stand we 'fore our wives and 'fore our children!

ROSSELMANN (steps into the ring):
Before you seize the swords, bethink it well.
You could resolve it calmly with the Emperor.
It costs you but a word and those same tyrants,
Who now oppress you harshly, flatter you.
-- Accept, what often hath been offered you,
Renounce the Empire, yield to Austria's power --

AUF DER MAUER:
What says the priest? We swear to Austria!

AM BUHEL:
Hark not to him!

WINKELRIED: It is a traitor's counsel,

A foe o' th' country!
REDING: Calm, confederates!

SEWA: We swear to Austria, after such disgrace!

VON DER FLUE: We let ourselves be cowed by force to do,
What we refused to kindliness!

MEIER: Then were
We slaves and would deserve to be the same!

AUF DER MAUER:
Let him be stripped of all a Schweizer's rights
Whoever speaks of giving up to Austria!Magistrate,
I insist thereon, this be
The first law of the land, that we here give.

MELCHTAL: So be't. Who speaks of giving up to Austria,
Shall be an outlaw and all honor lack,
No countryman receive him at his hearth.

ALL (raise their right hands):
We're all agreed, that this be law!

REDING (after a pause): It is't.

ROSSELMANN: Now be you free, you are so through the law,
Never shall Austria extort by force,
What it could not obtain by friendly suit --

JOST VON WEILER: To the agenda, now.

REDING: Confederates!
Have all the gentle means as well been tried?
Perhaps the King is not aware, it is
Not by his will at all, that we must suffer.
This final means we should as well attempt,
First bring our grievances before his ear,
Before we seize the sword. For force is still
Atrocious, even in a righteous cause,
God only helps, when men no longer help.

STAUFFACHER (to KONRAD HUNN):
Now is't for you, to give report. Speak forth.

KONRAD HUNN: I was at Rheinfeld at the Emperor's palace,
To plead against the Governor's harsh oppression,
To claim the charter of our ancient freedom,
Which each new King hath formerly confirmed.
I found the envoys there of many cities,
From Swabia and from the path o' th' Rhine,
Who each and all received their documents,
And joyously returned unto their lands.
Your envoy, I was shown to councillors,
And they sent me away with empty comfort:
"The Emperor at present had no time,
He would attend to us some other time."
-- And as I tearfully passed through the halls
Of the King's castle, I beheld Duke Hansen
Stand weeping in a window bay, 'round him
The noble Lords of Wart and Tegerfeld.
They called to me and stated: "Help your selves,
And do not wait for justice from the King.
Did he not rob his very brother's child,
And keep from him his just inheritance?
The Duke implored him for his mother's land,
He had now fully come of age, it were
Now time, for him to rule both land and people.
How did he answer him? The Emperor placed
A wreath on him: that be the jewel of youth."

AUF DER MAUER: You have now heard it.
Do not wait for right And justice from the Emperor!
Help your selves.

REDING: Naught else is left to us. Now give advice,
How we shall guide it to a happy end.

WALTER FURST: (steps into the ring):
We want to drive away the hated force,
The ancient rights, as we inherit them
From our own fathers, we want to preserve
Not unrestrain'd to reach for what is new.
The Emperor retain, what is the Emperor's
Who hath a master, serve him dutifully.

MEIER: I hold my land in fief from Austria.

WALTER FURST: Continue then, to give its due to Austria.

JOST VON WEILER: The Lords of Rappersweil receive my tax.

WALTER FURST: Continue then, to pay your rent and tax.

ROSSELMANN: To Zurich's noble Lady am I sworn.

WALTER FURST: Give to the cloister, that which is the cloister's.

STAUFFACHER: I hold no fief except those of the Empire.

WALTER FURST: What needs be, that be done, but not beyond
The gov'rnors with their vassals would we drive
Away and all their fortress castles raze,
Yet, if it might be, bloodlessly. Thus let
The Emperor see, that only under force
We've shed the pious duties of respect.
And sees he us remain within our bounds,
Perhaps he'll statesmanlike o'ercome his wrath,
For a just fear is wakened by a people,
That moderates itself with sword in hand.

REDING: Yet let us hear! How can it be achieved?
The enemy hath weapons in his hands,
And verily he will not yield in peace.

STAUFFACHER: He will, when he beholds us under arms,
We shall surprise him, ere he is prepared.

MEIER: 'Tis quickly said, but difficult to do.
Two fortress castles tower in the land,
Which shield the enemy and would be fearsome,
If e'er the King should fall upon our land.
Rossberg and Sarnen must be overcome,
Before a sword is raised in these three lands.

STAUFFACHER: Delay so long, so will the foe be warned.
There are too many, who now share the secret.

MEIER: There are no traitors in the forest states.

ROSSELMANN: Zeal also, though 'tis good, can still betray.

WALTER FURST: Delay it longer, so the keep in Altorf
Is finished, and the Governor secured.

MEIER: You think but of yourselves.

SACRISTAN: And you're unjust.

MEIER (jumping up): Unjust! That Uri dares to say to us!

REDING: Upon your oath, be calm!

MEIER: Indeed, if Schwyz
Be leagued with Uri, then must we be silent.

REDING: I must point out to you before th' Assembly,
That you disturb the peace with vehement mind!
Stand we not all of us for the same cause?

WINKELRIED: If we delay until it's Feast o' th' Lord,
Then custom brings with it, that all the serfs
Bring presents to the castle for the Governor,
And thus ten men or twelve are able to
Assemble unobserved inside the palace,
Who secretly bear sharpened blades with them,
Which one can swiftly mount upon a staff,
For none can come with weapons in the castle.
Close by i' th' woods the larger number waits,
And if the others have successfully
Secured the gate, so will a horn be blown,
And those will burst forth from their ambush place,
Thus is the castle ours with little work.

MELCHTAL: The Rossberg I will undertake to scale,
A wench i' th' castle is disposed to me,
And I'll delude her easily, to pass
A ladder to me for a nightly visit,
Am I once up, my friends will follow me.

REDING: Are all agreed, that it shall be postponed?

(The majority raise their hands.)

STAUFFACHER (counts the votes): It is a twenty to twelve majority!

WALTER FURST: If on a certain day the castles fall,
So from one mountain to another we
Shall give the sign with smoke, th' militia will
Be summoned, quickly, in each capital,
Then when the governors see our armed resolve,
Believe me, they will soon give up the fight
And willingly accept a peaceful escort,
To flee beyond the borders of our land.

STAUFFACHER: From Gessler only fear I fierce resistance,
Surrounded by his cavalry he's dreadful,
Not without blood quits he the field, yes though
Repelled he still is dreadful to the land,
Hard is't and almost dangerous to spare him.

BAUMGARTEN: Where it is dang'rous to the neck, place me.
To Tell I owe the saving of my life.
With pleasure I shall stake it for the land,
My honor I've secured, my heart contented.

REDING: Time brings advice. Await it patiently.
One must as well entrust some things to th' moment.
-- Yet see, while we still meet here in the night,
Upon the highest mount the morn already
Displays her glowing beacon -- Come, let's part,
Before the light of day surprises us.
WALTER FURST: Fear not, the night yields slowly from the valleys.

(All have involuntarily removed their hats and contemplate the sunrise
with silent concentration.)

ROSSELMANN: Upon this light, that gives us greeting first
Of all the people, who far under us
With heavy breathing dwell in smoke-filled cities,
Now let us take the oath of this new league.

-- We will become a single land of brothers,
Nor shall we part in danger and distress.

(All repeat the words with three fingers raised.)

-- We will be free, just as our fathers were,
And sooner die, than live in slavery.

(As above.)

-- We will rely upon the highest God
And we shall never fear the might of men.

(As above. The countrymen embrace one another.)

STAUFFACHER: Now each one go in silence on his way
Unto his friendships and community,
Who's herdsman, winter up his herd in peace
And quietly 'list friends into the league, --
What still must be endured until that time,
Endure it! Let the tyrant's reckoning
Increase, until one day the universal
And th' individual debt at once are paid.
Let every one restrain his righteous rage,
And save his vengeance only for the whole,

* SCENE I. Court before TELL's house.
He is busy with the carpenter's axe, HEDWIG with some domestic work. WALTER
and WILHELM play at the rear with a small crossbow.

* SCENE II.
An enclosed wild region of the forest, waterfalls plunge in spray from the
rocks. BERTA in hunting dress. Directly thereafter RUDENZ.

* SCENE III.
Meadow near Altorf. In the foreground trees, to the rear the hat upon a
pole. The prospect is bound by the Bannberg, over which a snowcovered
mountain towers. FRIESSHART and LEUTHOLD keep watch.



Go to Part III